Casey Jacobsen returns to Stanford to begin his second season as a starter.
He'll have to get used to four new players sharing the floor with him at
tipoff.

The No. 13 Cardinal will look to Jacobsen to help them overcome the loss of
several prominent players as they open the season against New Mexico at The Pit
on Saturday.

Stanford lost Jarron Collins, Jason Collins, Michael McDonald and Ryan
Mendez from their starting lineup. Those players helped Stanford go 31-3 and
advance to the NCAA tournament round of eight last season.

"It's an interesting change because you don't know how good your players
are until you don't have them anymore," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said.
"We have to be patient with this team. It's difficult because we don't have
people who know all the different parts of the game like we did a year ago."

Jacobsen returns after making the All-America team last season. The 6-foot-6
guard averaged 18.1 points per game and shot 51 percent from the field and 47
percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Stanford will have its mettle tested right away, as The Pit in Albuquerque,
N.M., is one of the toughest places in the nation for opposing teams to play.
The Lobos have won 81 percent of their games there in the building's 35-year
existence.

"We'll find something out pretty quickly," Montgomery said.

New Mexico, which went 21-13 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT
last season, returns its top three scorers. Guard Ruben Douglas averaged 16.3
points last season and looks primed to lead the Lobos again. The guard averaged
19 points in two preseason games.